B-3 · Business Research District
B-3 zoning in Sussex County, Delaware
B-3 is the Business Research District, intended for research-oriented business and business park uses operated indoors. The district article states no minimum lot area, only 75 feet of width and 100 feet of depth. Yards are 40 feet in front and 10 feet at the sides and rear, and height is capped at 42 feet.
Purpose
The district is for business research and business park uses, including offices and administrative functions, meant to operate entirely indoors. § 115-75.8
Permitted uses
Permitted uses include hotels, offices and business services, manufacturing with no outdoor sales or storage, places of worship, biotech campuses and industry, child care centers, medical clinics, distribution centers, government facilities, technology centers and vendor stands. Up to half of floor area may be limited auxiliary commercial use, and restaurants are allowed as an accessory use. §§ 115-75.9, 115-75.10
Conditional or special uses
The article lists special use exceptions from the Board of Adjustment rather than conditional uses: parking and loading relief and temporary permits for manufactured-home-type business structures. § 115-75.11
Lot and building rules
| Rule | Requirement | Code section |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum lot area | Not specified in the district article | § 115-75.13A |
| Minimum lot width | 75 ft; 150 ft where the lot fronts a numbered road on the 1964 General Highway Map, as revised | § 115-75.13A |
| Minimum lot depth | 100 ft | § 115-75.13A |
| Lot area without central sewer | 3/4 acre where the lot is not on central sewer or lies in a sewer planning area approved by County Council | § 115-75.13A |
| Yards | Front 40 ft, side 10 ft, rear 10 ft | § 115-75.13B |
| Yards next to a residential district | Side yard at least 20 ft and rear yard at least 30 ft | § 115-75.13B(2) |
| Maximum floor area | Not specified in the district article | § 115-75.13C |
| Maximum height | 42 ft | § 115-75.13D |
Each value links to the Article XB page on eCode360. Where the code shows a front yard as 40 (30), this page reports the code's own notation. The explanatory district table (Table I, § 115-156A) is a PDF attachment that this summary did not read, so ask Planning and Zoning what the 30 figure means for your lot. Lot-size figures assume the standard option unless a row says otherwise.
What this means for a parcel owner
B-3 is aimed at office and research campuses, not retail. The article gives no lot-area minimum, so site size is driven by width, depth, yards and the sewer rule. Uses are meant to stay indoors, so outdoor storage is a poor fit.
Official text
Read the district's own article: Article XB, §§ 115-75.8 to 115-75.13, Sussex County Code Chapter 115 on eCode360. The county zoning map shows which district a parcel is in: Sussex County online map.
Summary as of 2026-10-24; the code controls.